Greening the Highways – Road Way Design That Integrates Transportation Functionality and Ecological Sustainability – Case Study of Port to Port Expressway in Hambantota District

Abstract

The weight of the road transport sector within an economy is considerable, not only inquantitative terms (tons transported), but also in economic terms such as source of wealth,employment and in terms of support given to other economic activities. Through numerousmechanisms, investments in the road sector benefit the whole society by providing access toterritory and allowing poverty alleviation to take place. Consequently, the road networkcreates and stimulates positive synergy and enhances social cohesion and integration bygiving citizens access to the same opportunities. However, in as much as it provides the aforesaid benefits, if not done holistically without giving proper heed to the environment andnatural resources, it poses many negative impacts. Some of them are bifurcating landscapesand societies and calling for involuntary resettlement, impediment on natural hydrology,noise pollution, water pollution, habitat destruction/disturbance and local air quality; and thewider effects including climate change from vehicle emissions. The design, construction andmanagement of roads can change the impacts to varying degrees.

A green highway is a roadway constructed with a relatively new concept for roadway designthat integrates transportation functionality and ecological sustainability. An environmentalapproach is used throughout the planning, design, and the construction. The result is ahighway that will benefit transportation, the ecosystem, urban growth, public health andsurrounding communities. In order to achieve this developer should go beyond the minimumstandards set by environmental laws and regulations. First of all it is required to map all theresources in the area in order to avoid, identify and protect critical resource areas. Naturaldrainage paths need to be protected and restored to protect the hydrology of wetlands andstreams in project area. The disruptions to ecological processes should be reduced bypromoting wildlife corridors and passages in areas identified through wildlife conservationplans. Examples are taken for the illustration of the above from the recently designedexpressway to link the Seaport with the Airport and the Southern Expressway in HambantotaDistrict.